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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–2Cite as

Hamilton’s Rule

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Synonyms

Inclusive fitness theory; Kin altruism; Kin selection theory

Definition

According to Hamilton’s rule, the cost of an investment must be less than the benefit weighted by the genetic relatedness of the investor and recipient. Based on the condition “all else being equal,” individuals are predicted to invest more in closely genetically related kin compared to more distantly related kin or non-kin.

Introduction

William D. Hamilton (1964) formulated a rule that defined the conditions under which altruism can evolve and spread in sexually breeding populations. Altruism refers to a behavior that decreases the fitness of the actor while increasing the fitness of another individual (West et al. 2011).

The Rule

Hamilton argued that in addition to the parent–offspring relation, other relatives who share a common descent carry identical copies of the same alleles (Mock 2011). Therefore, individuals can spread their own genes (inclusive fitness) not only by reproducing themselves (direct...

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References

  • Hamilton, W. D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour I & II. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7, 1–52.

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  • Mock, D. W. (2011). The evolution of relationship in nonhuman families. In C. A. Salmon & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of evolutionary family psychology (pp. 211–229). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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  • Salmon, C. A., & Shackelford, T. K. (2011). Toward an evolutionary psychology of the family. In C. A. Salmon & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of evolutionary family psychology (pp. 3–11). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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  • West, S. A., El Mouden, C., & Gardner, A. (2011). Sixteen common misconceptions about the evolution of cooperation in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior, 32, 231–262.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain

    Hans Hämäläinen

  2. University of Turku, Turku, Finland

    Antti O. Tanskanen

  3. Population Research Institute of Finland, Helsinki, Finland

    Mirkka Danielsbacka

Authors
  1. Hans Hämäläinen
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  2. Antti O. Tanskanen
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  3. Mirkka Danielsbacka
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hans Hämäläinen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Dr. Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Penn State Worthington Scranton, Scranton, USA

    Douglas Sellers

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Hämäläinen, H., Tanskanen, A.O., Danielsbacka, M. (2018). Hamilton’s Rule. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1357-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1357-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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